Electric generator.



B. P. REMY, 1?.I. REMY, F. P. MODERMOTT, J11. & I. J. REUTER.

ELECTRIC GENERATOR.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN.16,1911.

1,024,225. Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

11mm!!! T 1 111mm; f R

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN r. nmamrmx I. mini, rnANKLIN r. u c nnnmo'r'r, 1m... AND IRVING .1.

REUTER, or ANDERSON,

INDIANA, ASSIGNORS TO BEMY ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA, A CORPORATION.

ELECTRIC GENERATOR.

v Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Application filed January 16, 1911. Serial No. 602,997.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BENJAMIN P. Ram, FRANK I. REMY, FRANKLIN P. -MODER- MOTT, J r., and IRVING J. Rnu'rnn, citizens oi the United States, and residents of Anderson, county of Madison, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain useful Electric Generator; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to produce an electric generator adapted particularly for use on automobiles, although it may be employed for other purposes. It is adapted to be .driven at a speed varying with that of the engine of the automobile, and to .provide current for igniting the internal combustionengine of the automobile, lighting the automobile, operating thesignaling horn thereof, etc. I

For the uses mentioned above an electric enerator should, first, be capable of having its output regulated to suit the-load or work throughout such variations of speed and load as take place during the running of the automobile.

The term regulated to suit the load will be understood by those skilled in the art, although its definition may depend upon the arrangement of. the elements constituting the load. If, for example, these elements are connected in parallel, the regulation consists in maintaining a constant electromotive force between the conductors with which said load is con nected. In the second place, it should be possible to start the internal combustion engine by cranking with no other source of current than that provided b the electric generator, and to that end t eoutput of such generator should be capable of operating ignition apparatus, even when the generator is turned by a fraction of a'revolu ion and at a speed below the speeds occurring during the usual operation of the engine. Therefore, neither a dynamo nor a magneto suffices to accomplish the result desired. A dynamo is well adapted as a source of current for automobiles, etc., after the engine is in operation, but it is not satisfactory for starting the engine. The magnetic flux is small when the dynamo is not in operation, but when it is running, a portion of the energy generated is utilized in the field windings to increase the flux and cause the machine to build up or "tleliver more power than could be obtained if the residual flux alone were present. Below a certain critical speed, however, the dynamo would not build up, and, also, owing to the self-induction of its windings, a certain time is required for building up even when the dynamo is running at a speed above the critical speed. On the other hand, a magneto has a strong magnetic field, even when standing still, and, therefore, it can give a larger output than a dynamo when turned at extremely slowspeeds, and, furthermore, the magneto does not require time to build up its field before delivering its output. Hence, the magneto is well adapted as a source of current for starting the engine, but its output cannot be as readily controlled thereafter as the output of the dynamo for adapting it to perform other func tions.

This invention in electric generators, in a sense, combines the magneto and the dynamo in order to attain the ease of regulation of the dynamo with the engine starting qualities of the magneto.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the electric generator. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In thedrawings there is shown in detail a base 10, pole pieces 11, end plates 12, an armature or inductor-shaft 13 mounted in said end plates and a brush holder 14. These parts may be of an usual type, as

they constitute by themse ves no essential part of our invention.

The armature consists of the core 15 secured on the shaft 13 and is provided with a series of holes 16 extending'longitudinally through the same, and longitudinal slots 17 extending from the holes to the periphery so that there Is provided a number of T-shaped portions about which the armature coils 18 are wound. The particular manner of forming this armature. is likewise not essential to this invention, although for the particular form of regulation herein described, it must generate direct current.

There are two sorts of magnets, permanent magnets 20 and soft iron magnets 21, the latter being within the former, but they may be otherwise arranged. The soft iron magnets are of such a character that the flux through them may be readily varied in amount, and, if desired, in direction, by means of current in the hereinafter de scribed field winding. The permanent magnets should produce a large amount of flux when there is no current in the field winding, and in order to obtain this result with certainty, it is necessary to use magnets whose flux is relatively little altered by the current in the field winding. The soft iron magnets rest upon the pole pieces, but not necessarily so. The permanent magnets are set in longitudinal notches 22 at the "upper lateral edges of the pole pieces, but this detail is immaterial. Field coils 25 and 26 surround both sorts of magnets preferably, although it is not absolutely necessary that they surround more than the soft iron magnets, or that there be a plurality of coils 25 and 26. However, the construction described and shown is considered preferable. ever, that the two sorts of magnets be arranged with reference to the armature so that they will influence each others magnetic flux. The field winding is adapted to produce a magneto-motive force in either direction, according tothe'requirements of the load. It is designated as magnetizing when it acts with thepermanent magnets, "that is, increases the flux passing through the armature core, and demagnets izing when it decreases this fiux.-

The coil '25 .may be considered the magnetizing coil, and the coil 96 the demagnetizing coil.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the generator is at a standstill, a large portion ofthe flux supplied by the permanent magnets passes through the armature core, so that an electromotive force will be generated when the machine is operated at a very slow speed, as would be the case with a magneto.

The interaction of the flux from thetwo sorts of magnets exists regardless of how they are situated with relation to each other so long as there is a single armature. The electromotive force generated by the armature depends on the flux produced by each of the magnets. Hence, the invention is not limited necessarily to the relative position of the two sorts of magnets, as shown in the drawings. Nor is it necessary that the field windings surround the physical magnets, for it will sulhce if they surround some other portion of the magnetic circuits including said magnet or magnets and It is desirable, how-'- the armature. Hence, the invention is not necessarily limited to a device in which the field coil surrounds a magnet, so lon as it surrounds the magnetic circuit formed by said magnet. K, The invention applies to a generator haying" either a direct current or an alternating current armature, and also wherein the flux from the permanent and soft magnets have different paths through the armature rather than substantially the same paths as in the form shown in the drawings. Nor is the invention necessarily limited to the method of regulation herein 'set forth, as other means of regulation well known might be employed.

A dynamo, especially if designed to produce low electromotive force, frequently fails to build up on account of the drop of electromotive force between the commutator and the brushes. This drop is caused by contact resistance, vibration of the brushes, dirt, etc. The electromotive force generated when only the residual magnetic flux is present may be insufficient to overcome this drop and the field magnets receive little or no current. By increasing the amount of flux which is present in the armature core before the machine builds up,-

the liability of the brush contact resistance to prevent building up is minimized. This is obtained by the use of the permanent magnets'in our generator, and at the same time the advantage of the dynamo as regards the ease of regulation is obtained.

When a generator is in operation the flux obtained from permanent magnets is smaller for a given cross section than that which maybe obtained from elect-romagnets, so that a dynamo is better than a magneto in regard to the output obtainable from a given amount of iron in the field magnet. This advantage of the dynamo is also largely present in our invention.

It will be observed that the magnetic' flux supplied by the permanent magnet is not required to pass through the soft iron magnet and the magnetic flux supplied by the soft iron magnet is not required to pass through the permanent magnet, although the fluxfrom the two magnets have a more or less common path through the armature and pole pieces. With-this construction, it is not necessary that the magnetic flux through the permanent magnet be varied in order to produce regulation. This makes it possible to reduce the E. M. F. generated by the armature without demagnetizing the permanent magnet. It, therefore, .makes it possible to regulate by the useof fewer ampere turns in the winding than would be necessary if the magnetism of the permanent magnet had to be varied through a Wide range as would be the case if all of the magnetic flux would be required to pass through the permanent magnet. Preferabl the magnetic circuits of the armature an the soft lron magnet and the permanent m et are in parallel.

e claim as ourinvention:

1. An electric generator provided with a permanent field ma et and a soft iron field magnet parallel w1th the permanent ma net, an armature between both ends of bot sorts of magnets, and a field coil surrounding the magnetic circuit of the soft iron field magnet.

2. An electric generator provided with a. permanent field ma et, a soft iron field magnet parallel witfi the permanent magnet, an armature betweenboth ends of both sorts of magnets, and a field coil surroundmg the magnetic circuits of both the soft iron and rmanent field magnets.

3. An e ectric generator provided with a permanent field magnet, a soft iron field magnet located within said permanent field magnet, an armature between both ends of Copies 0! thin patent may be obtained for both sorts of magnets and a field coil surrounding both sorts oimagnets.

4. An electric generator provided with a horseshoe permanent field magnet, a horseshoe soft lron field magnet located within the permanent magnet, a pair of oppositely located ole pieces each pole iece in contact wit-I the adjacent .ends of 0th sorts of 30 magnets, an armature between said pole pieces, and a field coil surrounding said magnets.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto afiixed our signatures in the presence of the 35 witnesses herein named.

BENJAMIN P. REMY.

FRANK I. 'REMY.

FRANKLIN P. M0DERMOTT, JR. IRVING J. REUTER.

B. M..REMY, Mancannr W. Rmnr.

five cents each, by addressing the Gommlulonor 0! Patents, Washington, I). 0. 

